Pittsburg man charged with trying to hire hit man

Updated 5:21 am, Friday, February 28, 2014

Photo: Courtesy Of Pittsburg PD

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Joseph Mosis.

Joseph Mosis.

Photo: Courtesy Of Pittsburg PD

Pittsburg man charged with trying to hire hit man

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(02-27) 17:41 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- A Pittsburg man has been charged with hiring a hit man to cut off the genitals and break the legs of a former employee whom he believed had wronged him, authorities said Thursday.

Joseph Mosis, 52, had hired the victim for a job and offered him a place to stay but ultimately got upset at him because he filed a complaint about not receiving back pay, said Mary Knox, a Contra Costa County deputy district attorney.

Mosis owns Monsam Enterprises, a plastic and aluminum framing company in Antioch that specializes in portable sinks.

Mosis solicited a "hit" from a man who turned out to be an undercover Pittsburg police officer, Knox said. Mosis had wanted the victim's legs broken and his penis and tongue cut off, authorities said.

Mosis appeared in Superior Court on Wednesday on a charge of attempted aggravated mayhem but did not enter a plea. He is being held at County Jail in Martinez in lieu of $1.5 million bail.

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"This was a rare case for us," said Pittsburg police Lt. Ron Raman. "There were a lot of moving parts in this case. Our officers worked tirelessly to corroborate information and ultimately devise a plan to arrest Mosis."

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